There is a need during various surgical procedures for instruments such as retractors to be held for extended periods of time in stationary positions. Typically, such holding is done by a medical practitioner, such as a surgical assistant, under the direction of a doctor. In some cases, the instruments must be held with some degree of strength, and/or with a great deal of precision. Frequently, the instruments must be held for extended periods of time, causing fatigue in the practitioner holding the instrument, and increasing their risk of the instrument being held with less strength and/or precision than is desirable.
Such instruments are often repositioned several times throughout a surgical procedure. Moreover, such instruments must be placed and held in positions that do not interfere with a doctor's access to various portions of the patient's body. Furthermore, all devices used in a surgical field must either be sterile, or shielded from a patient by a sterile barrier.
Several fixtures for holding retractors and other instruments have been introduced to the industry. Such fixtures tend to be manually intensive and cumbersome, requiring significant labor to position and lock in place. Additionally, many of these fixtures have limited range of motion, often with discrete position settings that can limit their usefulness. Some forms of multi-joint, arm-like support structures are cumbersome and require two-handed operation and/or foot pedal operation, adding complexity to the procedure. While such fixtures might provide consistent holding power, their limited configurations and complex methods of reconfiguring might make their use frequently impractical in the surgical field.
Accordingly, there has existed a need for a medical instrument fixture that is easily and quickly configurable, and provides consistent holding power for instruments. Moreover, the fixture needs to meet the requirements of being usable in a surgical field. Typical embodiments of the present invention satisfy these and other needs, and provide further related advantages.